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Apple’s New iOS Features

The month of June is a great time to be an Apple user. The Worldwide Developers Conference has announced many new and exciting things for people who own Apple products to look forward to.
Among the announcements made at the Worldwide Developers Conference was a reveal of 10 new features and design choices...

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Ever since the very first iPhone launched Apple has made design changes with each new model. Some of the changes have been minor and others, like replacing the all-glass back with an all-aluminum design, have been more significant. However, the basic form factor has always stayed the same. But I bet you didn’t know that Apple had an idea that would dramatically change the way you used your iPhone. Apple was recently granted a patent for an iPhone design that has the screen curve all the way around the phone, and it looks pretty wild.

The patent was published on September 29th and is a continuation of various patents that Apple has filed in the past. It really isn’t a new idea, but it is still very interesting and leads speculation that Apple is still toying with ideas like these. In the patent, Apple says that the design could change the way we use our iPhones. If you iPhone’s screen was extended, you wouldn’t be limited to interacting with the device’s screen only on the front of the phone.

Apple also noted that other aspects of the device that would be found along the side. These included a mute switch, power, and volume buttons. However, these would not be able to be used with apps since they are only programmed to perform a single task. The new design that Apple is proposing in the patent would change all of this. Here’s what Apple had to say about the whole thing.

“Unfortunately, this popular form factor, leaves the sides and rear surfaces of the device unused or at best configured with buttons and switches with fixed location and functionality. Since many of these buttons and switches have fixed functionality, they cannot always be incorporated into third party applications. Therefore, there exists a need for an improved form factor for portable electronic devices, which allows functionality to extend to more than one surface of the device.”

This doesn’t mean that we should expect to see something like this anytime soon. Apple patents different technologies and products all the time, and not necessarily because it has any plans of bringing these ideas to the table. Patents simply give users an idea of what to expect from Apple and what the company may be experimenting with. In addition to that, patents also keep Apple’s competition from utilizing certain technologies, giving Apple a one-up.

So what do you think? Would you be interested in an iPhone that has a screen that wraps all the way around your device? I, for one, think it’s a neat idea but not one that I think I would particularly enjoy using. But don’t let me spoil it for you; I’m still waiting on my Star Wars-esque holo-projector…..